


Wolves Don't Take to Cages

by CasuallySharp



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Eventual Romance, Kidnapping, M/M, Recovery, Sad, Slavery, Vampire Hannibal Lecter, Vampires, Werewolf Will Graham, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2020-10-29 03:01:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20789504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CasuallySharp/pseuds/CasuallySharp
Summary: ~A vampire he’d never seen before stood perfectly silhouetted in the doorway, the gory corpse next to him contrasted the well maintained man so much it was almost comical. He lingered there, staring at Will like he was some kind of curiosity, and not a posed to strike wolf. Will growled as a step was taken. He had nowhere else to go but further up against the wall. At this reaction, the man stopped, and kneeled down outside the door. He was smiling gently, lips just curled at the edges. Will watched him intensely, the screams from elsewhere in the castle still echoing around the two of them. Finally, the man spoke.“Hello there,” his gentle voice carried in a soothing tone. “My name is Hannibal. Can you tell me yours?”~A werewolf named Will is trapped in a castle of vampires, all who are set on letting him rot away in a small prison below their feet. He's left there virtually unattended for years, until finally, a rivaling faction of vampires attacks the castle and frees the fearful young man. Hannibal, the leader of these rivals, finds himself nurturing the wolf back to health and sanity. But is Will already too far gone?





	Wolves Don't Take to Cages

**Author's Note:**

> IDK what im doing lmao

Will was laying on the floor in the dark, staring out into space, motionless and tired. The summer made the room thick with heat even at night, and having slept through the long day, Will was wide awake for the endless nightfall. However, this was not the first time he found himself in this scenario. In fact, this is how he’s spent most of his life, and all of the life he could remember. This stone room held all of the space he had occupied for thousands of days. The cold walls, the tiny window, the oak steel door, the chains around his neck, and himself. Will might as well have been born in this place. 

This is what his average day looked like. He slept, he ate, he slept. And now that he couldn't sleep any more, he waited for just about anything at all to happen. His tail twitched occasionally but otherwise he was still. 

Some time ago, there was a human woman who looked after him. She taught him to speak, to read, manners and brought him books. She named him William, and was the only person who ever cared about him during his life locked away. Dolarhyde killed her in front of him the night she tried to smuggle him out of his room. 

Will thinks he hears a bug buzzing by the corner but doesn’t bother to check. Instead he flips over onto his other side to stare at the door. 

Will could hear the party they were having above him and felt his anxiety spike each time there was a burst of laughter from the guests. Ever since he was a defenseless pup his captors would bring him out to be gawked at, mocked and poked at parties like the one going on now. It was his only purpose really. He didn’t know much about his situation other than the vampires who kept him here enjoyed symbols of power and status, and apparently having a werewolf under your roof counts for some of that. Will was a defenseless animal, only able to sit and wait for someone to barge in and drag him upstairs. To throw him by the scruff in front of strangers and beat him. He considered changing to his wolf form in anticipation of this, and often he did, but was simply too tired, too exhausted from trying, and instead continued to stare ahead into empty darkness. Not even the crack under the door provided any clarity. 

He wondered if being dead would be any different from being alive in his situation. Will would think, that much like his life, death meant not being able to do anything, or go anywhere. Except in death, his body wouldn’t hurt anymore, his stomach wouldn’t ache with ceaseless hunger, and maybe even if he was really lucky, he could meet his parents. Will was taken from them. The vampires assured him they had killed all of his relatives. That there was nothing waiting for him beyond this castle. Will couldn’t remember anything past before he was taken, only vaguely remembers crying as he was carried away at five. But that was thirteen years ago. 

His tail twitched. Will sighed and closed his eyes.

That’s when he heard screams and shouts. He bolted to his feet and scrambled to the corner farthest from the door. His heart thrummed as he picked up the scent of fear and vampiric blood, the pounding of feet echoing from everywhere in the castle. He pressed his hands up against the cold walls and felt his nails begin to grow in a fearful reaction. When he heard the thud of a body slamming onto the floor his fangs slid down as a terrified snarl curled his lips. The clammer above was ear shattering, a woman let out a horrified shriek that was curtly cut off- he could feel her anguish as she too toppled to the floor. Will could hear them getting closer, smell the approach of strangers and blood and chaos. Someone was chasing another, and he was caught just outside Will’s door. 

“N-no! Let me go-“ the brief begging ended the same time Will heard the tearing of tendons and cracking of bone, followed by the heap of flesh dropping to the ground, blocking the light from the crack beneath the door as blood seeped in. The red creeped through the splits in the stone, like claws reaching out for him. Unreal. Everything was in slow motion, yet it all happened so fast. Will couldn’t control his breathing. Then the shadows of boots fell as what remained of the man's body was kicked away, lingering still as anything else in Will’s room. The fighting continued above, two completely conflicting scenes unfolding in tandem, as the handle rattled and the door swung open. 

A vampire he’d never seen before stood perfectly silhouetted in the doorway, the gory corpse next to him contrasted the well maintained man so much it was almost comical. He lingered there, staring at Will like he was some kind of curiosity, and not a posed to strike wolf. Will growled as a step was taken. He had nowhere else to go but further up against the wall. He hadn’t fully transformed yet, but he could feel his hackles rising as fur sprouted out of his back. At this reaction, the man stopped, and kneeled down outside the door. He was smiling gently, lips just curled at the edges. Will watched him intensely, the screams from elsewhere in the castle still echoing around the two of them. Finally, the man spoke. 

“Hello there,” his gentle voice carried in a soothing tone. “My name is Hannibal. Can you tell me yours?” 

A period of quiet dragged on between them as a stunned Will processed everything that was going on. His eyes flickered from Hannibal, to the corpse just a few feet away, an unrecognizable pile of meat, before moving back to stare at the stranger. 

“If you can speak of course.” Hannibal interrupted the stretching silence, everything in the room so still despite all of the chaos reigning around them. They were in a bubble of sorts, as Will often was in his closed off prison. The war above was no concern here. “I can,” escaped him as some of the tension fell away. He could tell Hannibal had no intention of hurting him. He was however, endlessly curious about what Will was doing locked away in the bowels of a vampiric lair. A werewolf held captive in a rank dungeon bound in chains. 

“So you can tell me your name, and why you’re here.”

Will hesitated, out of practice when it came to speech. And barking at his keepers didn’t count. He lowered his arms that had remained pressed to the corners of the walls on either side of him, sheathing his claws back to nails as he hugged his body to comfort himself. “It’s Will.” He almost flinched at his own rasping voice, holding in a cough. “I’ve been here all my life.” 

“And how long has that been, Will?”

“I think… thirteen years.” 

“Thirteen years here in this room?” 

He nodded. “Why are you here? What’s going on out there?” Will hated how small his voice sounded, how shaky and childish. Hannibal didn’t answer him at first.

He watched as Hannibal stood again, and Will pushed himself back into the corner out of instinct. “I’m not here to hurt you, Will,” He reassured, “ And unfortunately there is no time to explain what is happening. But I’d like to help you, if you’d let me.” Hannibal nodded to the chain that clung to the wall, leading all the way to the steel collar wrapped around Will’s neck. 

Was it really that easy? After all this time, all he had to do was tell this man, this vampire yes? And he’d finally get to leave this place? Even if Hannibal’s intention was to kill him, to lock him away somewhere else, at least it wouldn’t be here. After all of the pain and heartache, he could leave? 

A particularly wretched squeal echoed down the hallway as someone tumbled down the stairwell just as Will was making up his mind, before another figure rushed in behind Hannibal. Will returned to his original position, his nose now turning black as this new vampire addressed Will’s would be savior. She was splashed in blood and panting. “Lector, we need to go.” She huffed. “Now!” 

“Hello, Miss Bloom,” Hannibal greeted, “I have just met someone new. His name is Will,” he informed her, chatting as if it was a polite dinner party and not a bloody battle. “I think he’d like us to help him.” Bloom looked down in shock at Will, trembling and mid transformation, a sickly boy with fangs flashing in warning like a cornered beast. Will could feel her pity and her rage. She seemed to be shocked into silence. “My offer still stands Will. Do you want us to help you?” 

They were both safe. Will just knew like he always did. Knew that no matter why they were here, Hannibal was being genuine, and Bloom would help too. He was so tired, so cold. He lowered himself yet again, allowing himself to return to his human state before nodding hesitantly. “Please… yes.”

And just like that the chain was torn from the wall with one swift motion. He barely even registered Hannibal’s movement. The resulting crack of stone snapped Will out of his haze. It had all been so dreamlike, foggy like he had made the whole thing up until that moment. But that resounding thunderous sound like an explosion made it all real. 

“Then we’d better get going.” 

Hannibal scooped up his helpless body as the three of them shot out of Will’s room, his prison, his world, and stepped out into the real one. The hallways were lit with torches that shot past them as they raced at an incredible speed, the vampires expertly weaving through the maze like castle. Will only caught glimpses of the carnage as they burst out of the front gate, splattering of blood and limbs across the floors blurred by their quick egress. Others followed Hannibal into the trees just beyond the fortress, all of them leaving behind the bodies and bloodshed. Maybe he should feel bad all those people died. Maybe he should be scared they’d do the same to him. But his first breath of air outside in the dark night filled his lungs so greatly he felt his exhale shake him to the core, and for the first time he was free. And this time it was real. 

He couldn’t care less in that moment what happened to him now. 

...Yet he turned back. 

Will only glanced behind him. But he knew what he saw as he was carried away to his freedom. His owner, standing and watching them and the other attacking vampires flee from the upstairs window. And Will knew he saw Dolarhyde smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This seems to be a reoccurring problem for me when I first post fics lol- but I didn’t set that there would be more then one chapter when I first published it. So for those wondering; I’m planning on posting more chapters! I can’t say I’ll update often, I’m a full time college student. But I have a plan for where I want this story to go!


End file.
